Estevan Mares, West Ottawa rugby eyeing another state championship

Estevan Mares watched his brothers hoist a Michigan Youth Rugby Association Division 1 state championship trophy on West Ottawa’s home field last Jiune. He is aiming to match what Roman and Alek Mares accomplished but faces a different challenge. The Panthers graduated 35 seniors from last season...

Estevan Mares watched his brothers hoist a Michigan Youth Rugby Association Division 1 state championship trophy on West Ottawa’s home field last Jiune.

He is aiming to match what Roman and Alek Mares accomplished but faces a different challenge. The Panthers graduated 35 seniors from last season, including his brothers.

Mares is a captain and one of seven seniors in West Ottawa’s first season moving from a club sport to varsity.

“Without my big brothers, I would not have done rugby. Last year, watching them, they did so well,” Estevan said. “They were phenomenal. They knew exactly what they were going to do. Everyone listened to them. You could always count on them. It was awesome watching them.”

The Panthers return to action on April 26 when they host Dexter at the West Ottawa Soccer Complex.

Estevan, who helped lead the Panthers to the district wrestling championship in the winter, credits his brothers for inspiring him to try the sport.

“They got me into rugby,” he said of Roman and Alek, who now play for Davenport University. “The first year I was going to play, I had hurt myself in wrestling. I watched from the sidelines. I wanted to play and my brothers pushed me to play. I got to play last year. It was one of the most fun experiences.”

“Rugby is so much fun. It is just your team battling their team. It is one big group. We are always together.”

The sport is enjoyed so mcuh at West Ottawa that more than 70 athletes are on the roster for the third year in a row.

“It will take a lot for them to come together,” West Ottawa coach Sean McTaggart said. “It gets harder from here. But the new seniors are starting to step up.”

Mares is doing his part as co-captain with John Long.

“As captains, we are trying to get everyone together,” said Mares, who plans to join Grand Valley State University’s club team this fall. “We are a really young team. We don’t have that many seniors. We are trying to pull together. We want the senior class to go out like that one did and we want our younger guys to get that experience and keep getting better every year.”